Animal Speeds

StuartDH · #1 (**permalink**) 09-03-2006, 10:21 AM

This is a list of animal speeds, including birds, mammals, fish etc, not just the fastest/slowest, but the speeds of all animals. If you know the speed of any animals, please post them here.

StuartDH · #2 (**permalink**) 06-03-2007, 12:24 PM

The following are some approximate speeds for animals across land, sea and air.

Peregrine falcon 200 mph
Spin-Tailed Swift 106 mph
Frigate Bird 95 mph
Cheetah 70 mph
Sailfish 68 mph
Pronghorn antelope 61 mph
Swan 56 mph
Duck 53 mph
Lion 50 mph
Thomson's gazelle 50 mph
Wildebeest 50 mph
Quarter horse 47 mph
Cape hunting dog 45 mph
Elk 45 mph
Coyote 43 mph
Gray fox 42 mph
Hyena 40 mph
Ostrich 40 mph
Zebra 40 mph
Mongolian wild ass 40 mph
Greyhound 39 mph
Whippet 35 mph
Jackal 35 mph
Mule deer 35 mph
Rabbit (domestic) 35 mph
Giraffe 32 mph
Reindeer 32 mph
Cat (domestic) 30 mph
Kangaroo 30 mph
Grizzly bear 30 mph
Wart hog 30 mph
White-tailed deer 30 mph
Human 28 mph
Crow 25 mph
Elephant 25 mph
Black mamba snake 20 mph
Six-lined race runner 18 mph
Squirrel 12 mph
Pig (domestic) 11 mph
Chicken 9mph
House mouse 8mph
Bumblebee 6 mph
Spider (Tegenearia atrica) 1 mph
Three-toed sloth 0.15 mph
Giant tortoise 0.1 mph
Garden snail 0.03 mph

paul m · #3 (**permalink**) 07-03-2007, 02:34 PM

Well, some of those are veritable slowcoaches compared to insects - admittedly beetles don't go very fast but locusts and flies can get up a good speed Fastest Flyer

However, a jumping flea is said to travel at 10 m/sec which I calculate as 360 kph .... not bad going from a standing start and it reaches that speed in 500th of a second. So if it's not the fastest animal then it certainly has the best acceleration.

Having said that, I believe that one of the planthoppers (Homoptera) now holds the record .... but I've lost the reference.

armadillolover · #4 (**permalink**) 14-03-2007, 05:53 PM

9-banded armadillos (the species found in North America) "Dasypus novemcinctus" - can run about 7 mph.

paul m · #5 (**permalink**) 14-03-2007, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by armadillolover

9-banded armadillos (the species found in North America) "Dasypus novemcinctus" - can run about 7 mph.

That's probably faster than me!
Wonderful animals armadillos - they fascinated me as a child - still do but I've never seen one in the wild ...
There are no European armadillos, of course, and never have been. One thing that made me guffaw was the first film version of 'Dracula' where the Count had armadillos walking around in his Transylvanian living room!